In 1995, HUD began requiring communities to submit one application for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants. This streamlined the application process, and encouraged the coordination of housing and support services for agencies providing direct homeless services, and placed emphasis on the development of local CoCs. The CoC is defined as “the local planning body that coordinates housing and support services funding for homeless families and individuals.” In 2009, President Obama introduced the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009. This Act amended and reauthorized the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act with substantial changes. In August 2012, HUD issued the Interim Rule which provided regulations for how the HEARTH Act of 2009 would be managed and administered.

The Purpose and Activities of the CoC are to:

Promote community-wide goals to end homelessness;

Provide funding to quickly rehouse homeless persons;

Promote access to mainstream resources; and

Improve self-sufficiency among people experiencing homelessness.

The CoC’s Primary Responsibilities are:

Operating the CoC

Designating and Operating an Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

CoC Planning

The Program Components of the CoC Competitive Grant Program are:

Permanent Housing (Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing)

Transitional Housing

Support Services Only (SSO)

Homeless Management and Information System (HMIS)

Project Review, Score, and Ranking Procedures, including Reallocation

The ERA followed standard evaluation guidelines as
listed in our Howard County Government, Continuum of Care Policies & Procedures,
Effective October 2016. These have been posted on our website since January
2016, and reposted for updates in October 2016. Page eight through 10 outlines
the process the ERA utilizes to review, rank, reject or reallocate both
renewals and any new projects including BONUS.

In order to review outcomes based on these criteria (page 10) the ERA
used a Score Card that reviewed APR data (directly from ServicePoint) as well
as HUD’s standards (“pass/fail” elements). All Project Applications were
scored, ranked based on score then accepted/rejected/reallocated, and then
placed into one of the two tiers, as HUD requires. Below is a copy of the Score
Card that was used for all Projects reviewed by the ERA. This is an updated
Score Card that reflects HMIS changes to the previously submitted Annual
Performance Report. Data elements did not change.

Public Comment period will be open from 9/6/17 through 9/13/17, at which time the application will be submitted through County government for approval by the County Executive and then submitted to HUD by or before 9/14/17, 7:59 PM. Any comments, edits or input can be provided via phone, email, fax, or in person to: Michelle L. Hippert, MCP, CoC Manager, Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, Office of Community Partnerships, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, MD 21046. Phone: 410-313-5971 (direct). FAX: 410-313-6424

If you have questions related to the Continuum of Care program, contact: Michelle L. Hippert, MCP, CoC Manager at 410-313-5971 (voice/relay) or email mhippert@howardcountymd.gov.

Local Application for Renewal and New Projects for Continuum of Care Permanent Supportive Housing Projects for individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness.

The Howard County Office of Community Partnerships is seeking Local Applications for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2017 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program for Permanent Supportive Housing Projects for individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness. All applicants for both renewal and new projects are required to submit applications. There is a separate application for each renewal project and for any new projects. Funding for new projects (created through BONUS or Reallocation) will be based on information prescribed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for FFY17. All data in renewal applications must be sourced directly from HMIS/ServicePoint.

Proposals must be received no later than5:00 p.m, on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 to: Michelle Hippert, CoC Manager, DCRS

Each Project Application must be submitted:

(1) One hard copy proposal

Hard copy proposals must contain the signature of a duly authorized officer or agency of the applicant who is empowered to bind the applicant to the requirements of the Application.

Proposals submitted without an authorized signature will be deemed non-responsive and incomplete and will not be accepted for review.

Howard County just received notification of available funding in the amount of $27,909 under the State Set-Aside Allocation for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Phase 34. Attached is a Public Notice that will be published in the Howard County Times on July 13, 2017, regarding this Phase 34 available funding for Howard County Maryland.

Attached is a zip file of the entire application package for Phase 34. This includes the application, manuals, timelines, eligible activities and required attachments for applying. Applications are due to the Department of Community Resources and Services by Friday July 28, 2017, by 5:00 PM. No late applications will be accepted. Submitted applications will be reviewed by the Local Board and submitted through the national website before August 8, 2017.

Eligible Activities for Local Recipient Organizations include the following; see attachments for full description including required backup documentation:

All DHR grants for homeless services were due to the CoC Lead Agency by Friday April 8, 2016. All applications were submitted by Howard County Government by DHR’s deadline. The following were the grants, amounts and uses submitted and awarded, to date, for FY2017:

On June 28, 2016, HUD opened the FY2016 Continuum of Care Application. All elements of the application were due to HUD by September 14, 2016 at 7:59:59 PM EDT. There were two main components of this application and both were completed in the federal reporting site, e-snaps.

The first component was the FFY2016 Collaborative Application, and included questions about the CoC’s governance, structure, community and client engagement, documented partnerships, local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), and each community's overall ability to commit to ending and preventing homelessness in line with the federal plan, Opening Doors.

The second component was the FFY2016 Project Applications. All Renewal Project Applications were due August 15, 2016 to the Department of Community Resources and Services. All Applications (new, renewals and BONUS) must be complete and in line with the Notice of Funding Availability associated with each competition. A notification email was sent to the members of the Continuum of Care on July 14, 2015.

Each year, the Continuum of Care may apply for a BONUS project. HUD released a total amount of $38,127 the Howard County CoC could apply for in BONUS grant dollars. Because the Howard County CoC has an established need for Permanent Supportive Housing, the BONUS project must serve 100 percent chronically homeless individuals and families in a new project. Due to the short time frame for the BONUS application, a Letter of Interest was accepted. The deadline was August 15, 2016 at 5:00 PM.

To review the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and the guiding regulations for the program, please see the following resources:

The Evaluation and Resource Allocation (ERA) Committee of the Board to Promote Self-Sufficiency reviewed and ranked the FFY2016 Project Applications, in accordance with the FFY2016 NOFA, on August 25, 2016. Agencies which submitted Renewal Project Applications and BONUS Project Applications were notified on August 26, 2016 of Project status, ranking and whether the Project Application would be submitted by the Collaborative Applicant. The final rankings are listed on the Continuum of Care page.

Housing for All

The Office of Community Partnerships’ Continuum of Care Program is facilitating a Howard County, Maryland Plan to End Homelessness update, to be named, Housing for All. Housing for All will be Howard County's new 5-year plan to end and prevent homelessness in Howard County. Housing for All is being developed with input from Federal, State, and Howard County Departments and Offices as well as community advocates, faith community members, and experts in the field of ending homelessness. A series of community events began with an Executive Roundtable in September 2016 and was followed by an October 2016 Community Planning Day. Events and activities will culminate in an updated plan slated to be adopted by June 2017.